Ford Ranger Starting Problems

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Ok let's try this1998 Ford Ranger 4 cyl. (8 spark plugs)2.4l manual transmission 4-wheel-drive to start going up hill i could never gain speed, infact i would loose some. Then going uphill to park lost all power and stalled. (rolled back into a parking spot)Wouldn't turn over so we replaced the battery. it will now turn over fine, just won't start. Checked the fuel presure at the injector manifold and had almost zero. Replaced the Fuel pump. now it's at 62 PSI..

It STILL will not start, we tried some starting fluid into the air cleaner and still will not ever try to start.

We checked spark on the 4 passanger side plugs all good. Took 1 of the coils (it has 2) and replaced it any combo still will not start.

The basic requirements for any engine to fire are fuel fed to the cylinders, an ignition spark and compression. It seems you've eleminated fuel and spark as the problem. I would take a compression check of the four cyclinders. If the test results are bad your timing belt may have slipped or broken.I was driving home one night and all of sudden the engine just went dead. When I tried to restart it it would turn over fine but it would not fire at all. Turned out the timing belt had broken. This was at 150K miles on my '94 2.3L engine.

Ok. Maybe not the best choice of words in my earlier post. The power distribution box in my ranger has about 10 relays in it, of two different sizes. I just replaced the three large relays for PCM Power relay, Starter relay and the Blower Motor relay. I also replaced the smaller relay to the Fuel Pump. The other relays that I thought were irrelevant to the power/starting issue were relays for wipers, A/C, and horn. At $9 for the small relays, I decided not to replace the 5 remaining ones.

So, I just installed the 4 relays, reconnected the battery and it started right up. Success! Then I turned it off and restarted it - and it failed again.

Here's what happens - clearly, power is available in the cab - lights on, radio, fan... start engine and there is a single click and then the power goes out - almost as if a fuse or breaker had tripped. Disconnecting and then reconnecting the battery will sometimes restore the power to the cab.

I played with it for about 30 minutes, was able to restore the power about 4 times and had it fully start twice. I think the relays were part of the problem, because prior to this, I had tried many times, gotten the click, lost the power but never started the engine again.

what starting problems did you have when you replaced those relays. Because I have a 94 ranger as well and right now it will only start if the battery is unplugged for a while. if not I only hear a click around the power distribution box until it just does nothing and makes no noise at all, also when it makes no noise the dashboard does not light up. But when it does make that clicking noise it will light up.

mine dose the same this if you unplug the battrey for awhile then hook it up turn the key dash lights come on but as soon as you turn the key the solenoid clicks and everything gose dead i am lost any ideas? 1995 ford ranger 2.3 standered trany

The weather has been too bad to replace the starter, so I was looking at the relays I had just put in and realized that I had not actually replaced the relay to the fuel pump as I had intended (swapped out a different one instead). After I replaced the relay to the fuel pump with the new relay, the truck started right up. I have been suspicious, since it did that before, but it has been almost a week now and the truck has started up just fine each time.

I'm still going to replace the starter, but I no longer think it is part of the problem.

I'm also still a little unclear why the bad relay kills all of the power to the cab and then eventually resets. Almost like the bad relay shorts the entire electrical system and then after some time the relay mechanically resets, restoring power (sometimes).

We got my 91 ford ranger about a year ago, and for a few months it has on and off had an issue with sputtering and stalling when we first start it. You will hear the engine working very hard and it will shake the truck and then boom, truck turns off. First time it happened it was right after we had the first full tank of gas in a looong time, had been running it until it died from no gas(we are broke), so we replaced the fuel pump hoping we had just clogged it. It didnt happen for awhile after that but then the last month it started happening again.

Keep in mind, it will do it once, and then we will restart it, and its fine,like it never happened.

Well, my fiance was driving it to work this morning on the freeway and it did the same thing twice. only difference, it was while he was already driving. It took him awhile, but he got it to start and got it back home.Had to call into work. This is his work truck so we are really worried about fixing this or he doesnt have a job any more.

i have replace the starter and flywheel on my 99 ranger 2.5 4 times in the last 3 years each time the starter drive is wore off and the flywheel also please help just replace it again is the after market starter and flywheel the problem?

I have to pump once, crank, tries to start. Pump, crank, tries to start. After 6 or 7 times, it will start, but run VERY rough. Then after 5 to 10 seconds, it will smooth out. It starts and runs fine after that for the day. Any ideas?? This is a 97 Ranger 3.0 4X2

I found a possible solution to our problem. Haven't tried it yet. Someone in another forum said that the TFI module on the back of the distributor needs to be taken off and regreased with dielectric grease and put back on.

Sounds like the fuel system is struggling to build up pressure which might indicate a bad fuel pump. If the problem was a restriction in the fuel line the engine would not smooth out after warm up.Question: after warm up when it's running good if you accelerate hard does the engine accelerate normally or does it cough or stutter?

A possible problem - the thermostat housing has 2 senors screwed into it. One has a black wire, this is the temp sensor for the gauge.

The other has a double set of wires, usually twisted together, black and yellow. This sensor tell the 'computer' if it is a cold or hot start. If it's a cold start, the amount of gas is increased during starting. If this sensor has failed, it thinks its a hot start and does not give the increased amount of gas for starting, and you get hard starts. When warmed up, the motor does not need the additional gas and starts just fine.

Try this. I was having the exact same problem and wound up buying the TPS, IAC, and fuel pump plus relays. One day it did not start at all, not even crank. Found a weak connecting negative battery cable. Replaced it and so far it has been working fine. Try it , it won't cost much.

Seems like this is a common problem without a common answer...... Truck starts right up in morning, drive to work (about 25 minutes), turn truck off and it won't start again, (has power just won't turn over). Wait a few hours and it starts. Tried replacing some fuses and it "appeared" to work, but now it is doing it again. Anyone having the same issue please help,

I found (after removing the bed, spending $230 on a flex fuel pump, and oh! Breaking the clips on the fuel lines) that the inertial switch in the cab had gotten loose. Check where the passenger's feet would go and make sure that switch is plugged in firmly. THEN check everything else.

But seriously if you don't have a lift and you need to change the fuel pump, just take the bed off. SOOO much easier. Six #55 torx bolts and remove the tail light wiring (be sure to get all the wiring detached!) and you and a friend can lift the bed off.

i had a problem similar to this in my 94 ranger 3.0. We replaced the fuel pump and strainer, everything was fine then one day it started idle low and die sometimes not starting until i relived pressure off the tank from turning gas cap. anyway one day it dawned on me to clean the tank and i haven't had an issue since, just be careful cause normal jacks arn't tall enough to lift the backend enough to get the tank out, other thing could also be iac on top throttle body, mainly be cause overtime it gets gunked up and the bypass inside stops working right.

had same issue, whenyou try to start it after warm up does it sound normal but like its not getting fuel, if this is the case replace fuel pump and strainer and clean out tank for good measure, most people dont realize if you got tarnish in your gas tank only a matter of time before it gettings in fuel line and works its way to engine and injectors this cause worst problom gumming up injectors and pushing contaminents in to the engine.

I have a 95 Ranger and the problem may be the same as yours and like many in here also. Before trying expensive answers try this one. There's a wire that comes off of the battery, grounding it to the frame. The negative battery cable is 4 gauge and the little wire is maybe 8 to 10 gauge. Sometimes that wire gets corroded. Try unscrewing it from the frame and scuff it on both the washer and frame where they meet with a wire brush, before reconnecting it. If that doesn't work, replace it completely. You can do that at just about any NAPA store. I work for one, and we do all kinds of custom wiring stuff for people. The parts shouldn't cost more than 10 bucks. That seemed to cure my ill for awhile anyway. (knock on wood)

Been having some issues lately with my Ranger cranking up. For a while I thought it had been the battery so I get it changed but that was not it so I took it to O'Reillys and the technician began putting Sea-Foam in the carborator every few weeks. This seemed to work but wasn't getting rid of the problem. I took it back today for another can of the Sea-Foam and the technician asked me what kind of gas I use. I said I use regular unleaded, he suggested using premium because of the wear and tear I put on the engine for all the travel I do. So I went to the gas station, got premium gas, and made it home which is about 40 miles away with no problem. However when i got in the drive way I turned the truck off for a minute then tried to crank it back up. Now it will not crank, engine seems like it doesn't want to turn over, cant get anything to happen.

My 96 Ranger, 2.3L automatic will not start if the temp outside is 10 degrees or less. It will crank but not start. The lights, dash lights etc work fine. The battery is new. I've had the fuel pump, fuel filter, plugs and wires and the cold/hot sensor (talked about in other posts - located on top of the engine by the timing belt) changed. My mechanic can't figure it out. I've read some of the other posts here about ECC and fuel relays and MAP etc but I'm not sure this would have anything to do with my problem. Has anyone had or heard about this before?

Have you tried a block heater or dip stick type heater on those cold nights? Cold weather thickens the oil and makes starting more difficult even if you have a brand new battery. Even a heat lamp under the engine block would probably help.

i have a 94 ranger, at first I thought that it was the alternator, but the gauges are not messing up and the lights don't dim. at times when driving it will lose power and I have to down shift to keep it from dying and hold the gas down and then it comes out of it . when first starting the truck I have to pump the gas, then I have to sit a few mins to let it warm up or if I try to take off right away it will die. while waiting as it idles it will rev up on its own and idle high for about a min and then drop down and its good to go. .... anyone have any ideas on where to start ?? :confuse: